PRODUCTS hode Island provide many Figure 11. Use of harvested in Rhode R products, from logs that will be cut Island into , to berries that are eaten as fast as they are collected. From an eco- nomic standpoint, traditional forest residue Blueberry 18% Vaccinium sp. products provide the most to Rhode Is- land’s economy, but firewood and non- timber forest products have very high Fuelwood values for some people. 50% Sawlogs 32% “True up the old wa- Timber products ter mill, hoist the In colonial Rhode Island, timber prod- Today when trees are harvested, the gate, and saw up a lit- ucts included white pine for ship masts, high-quality lower trunk is used for tle clear stuff. Why is clapboards, and shingles, and oak for lumber, while the upper stem, large casks, barrels, and building material. branches, small trees, and undesirable the brook that runs Many of these products were exported species are used for lower value-added the wheel smaller to Europe and the West Indies. Heavy products and fuelwood. Parts of the than it used to be?” timber harvesting soon took its toll on that can’t be used and have no markets Jesse B. Mowry, preface the forests and local timber shortages remain in the . Sawlogs account to "Forestation in Rhode began to appear. for about a third of the volume of trees Island”, 1917 that are harvested in Rhode Island (Fig. Lumber production in Rhode Island 11). Fuelwood accounts for half of the peaked around the turn of the 20th cen- harvest and the rest is logging residue tury with 33 operating. Soon that is left in the forests. after, the forest industry began to de- cline because of a lack of suitable trees Sawlogs remain the primary industrial and timber production shifting to the use of harvested in Rhode Island. Lake States and the southern United Lumber produced from the Rhode Is- States. By 1984, there were 16 mills land's oaks are highly valued and is the operating in Rhode Island that produced basis for more than half of Rhode Is- primarily hardwood pallets, using al- land’s timber-harvesting activities. By most four times as much hardwood as the mid-1980s, almost seven million softwood. board feet—a board foot is equal to a piece of wood 1 ft by 1 ft square by 1 in thick—of sawlogs were being harvested every year. Almost all of the hardwood sawlogs were harvested from oak spe- cies. The volume harvested from the primary softwood species – eastern white pine – reached more than two mil- lion board feet per year.

Rhode Island forests have the potential to contribute a much greater amount of wood to the market than is currently be- ing realized. As a result of the forests maturing, there is an abundance of lar- ger trees that, if a buyer is found, would

A skidder hauling a tree. Once the tree reachs the landing it will be bucked (cut to length) and then hauled to the mill. 18 Rhode Island’s Forest Industries Primary processing industries - Logging Fuelwood - and Planer mills Fuelwood is a leading in Secondary processing industries Rhode Island. The oil embargo of the - Yacht building 1970s and the desire for self-sufficiency - Lobster traps by many Rhode Island residents resulted - Butcher blocks in an increase in residential fuelwood - Pallets use. While it is not at the levels that it - Cabinetry once was, fuelwood remains a signifi- - Homes cant use today. Source: Directory, Southern New England Forest Consortium, Inc. Many households in Rhode Island are command a premium price. Fragmenta- still dependant, to some extent, on wood tion and parcelization has affected the for fuel. In 1995, there were more than Fuelwood still provides the 126,000 cords of wood—a cord is a principal heating source for ability to conduct timber harvests. some Rhode Islander's homes. stack of split wood 4 ft tall by 4 ft wide by 8 ft long—used for fuelwood, nearly The volume of wood in Rhode Island all of which came from hardwood spe- forests increased by 11 percent between cies. About three-fourths of this wood, 1985 and 1998. The quality of the hard- came from trees not suitable for com- wood resource is high while the quality mercial use because they were dead, de- of the softwoods is much lower. Within caying, or poorly formed. the hardwoods, northern red oak has the greatest volume of high value wood in the state. Although timber harvests of high quality eastern white pine in Rhode Nontimber forest products Island are selling for very good prices, There is an increasing interest in the col- the majority of softwoods are of poor to lection and cultivation of nontimber for- moderate quality. Insects, such as white est products in Rhode Island and pine weevil and hemlock woolly adel- throughout the country. The develop- gid, are one reason for the poor quality ment of an alternative forest products of the softwoods. Although red maple economy can provide revenue for forest is common in the state, its growth char- landowners and help people keep their acteristics and wood quality make it un- land. Landowner interest in edible and desirable for most commercial uses. medicinal products, as well as floral in- dustry products, has begun to develop into economic activities that are consis- tent with a rural character and lifestyle. Currently, witchhazel, ginseng, maple syrup, mushrooms, and floral greenery are cultivated and harvested in Rhode Island. The growth and enhancement of businesses based on non-timber forest There is an increasing inter- est among private landowners products can meet changing landowner in non-timber forest products, and community needs and provide such as witch hazel. money to help landowners maintain healthy, sustainable forests.

Wood pallets ready to be shipped. 19 WILDLIFE any species of wildlife depend on forest that is relatively uniform in com- Mforest ed habitats for their sur- position and structure. One advantage vival. From white-tailed deer to of the mature forest is the large amount migratory warblers, Rhode Island’s of mast—nuts and fruit—produced by forests are home to a wide diversity of some of the more common Rhode Island wildlife . The streams and ponds that trees, such as the oaks. But mast pro- the forests protect are critical to many duction varies greatly from year to year species, as well as a home to an equally and wildlife can not live by mast alone. A young white-tailed diverse group of aquatic wildlife. The In addition, mature forests provide more deer or fawn diversity and abundance of all of this snags—standing dead trees—and fallen wildlife changes as the distribution, trees that provide habitat for cavity- composition, and structure of the forests nesting animals and other animals that change. The major trends that are af- need dead wood. fecting wildlife are the maturing/aging of the forest resource, a proliferation of The proliferation of edge habitat – the poor quality edge habitat, and a lack of interface between different habitat types young forests. or age classes – between forest and non- forest land uses has helped a limited As a result of these conditions, the num- number of wildlife species proliferate. ber and variety of wildlife species cur- In particular, species such as white- rently found in Rhode Island has been tailed deer and wild turkey are able to changing in unanticipated ways. It is exploit these habitats and their numbers increasingly common to find animals have increased dramatically over the last that were once considered unthinkable 100 years. here, including moose, black bears, and fishers. Many of these animals are tran- Though there is now an abundance of sient visitors, but their sightings are be- forest/nonforest edge habitat, there is a coming increasingly common. general lack of high quality edge habitat that will significantly increase wildlife In addition to wildlife that are naturally diversity. To increase wildlife diversity, immigrating into the state, wildlife bi- we need a greater diversity of habitat ologists are introducing other species. types and age classes. Reintroduction of once native species, such as wild turkey, has proved very successful because these animals are Managing Forests for Wildlife well suited to the habitats that Rhode Island has to offer. But attempts to in- As the diversity of the forest increases, usually the diversity of the wildlife increases. The absence of large-scale disturbances - such as fires, hurricanes, and troduce some species, particularly game timber harvests - means forest diversity will be lowered because of a lack of young birds like ring-necked pheasant, have forests and meadows. The continuing maturation of the forest and the lack of re- been less successful. The limited area generating forest will continue to favor wildlife, such as white-tailed deer and rac- of agricultural fields and other grass- coons, and does little for other wildlife, such as bluebirds and cedar waxwings. lands in which to feed and breed and an Today, only a small percentage of the Rhode Island forest is actively managed, and abundance of predators have been the of this amount, lesser still is managed specifically to provide wildlife habitat. main reasons why game birds have not Through their use of fire, Native Americans were the first to intentionally influence been able to establish self-sustaining the composition and structure Rhode Island forests. Widespread use of fire as a populations. means of would not be tolerated today. But with sound, proac- tive management that may include prescribed burns and timber harvesting, Rhode The aging and maturation of our forests Island forests can yield a rich diversity of habitat beneficial not only for wildlife, but also beneficial for watershed protection, aesthetics, and a full range of timber in the past 10-20 years has resulted in a and nontimber forest products.

21 URBAN FORESTS Rhode Island is one of the most the state. The cities of Rhode Island’s urbanized states in the United States. past, while gritty, were also green. But Urban forests—trees and associated hurricanes and Dutch Elm disease plants and animals in and around cities changed the look of the cities by killing and towns—provide one of the few many stately trees. Another phenome- and other direct links between urban residents and non changing urban forests was the land uses in southeastern . Trees not only provide mental countless numbers of yard trees being Rhode Island solace, but they also physically enhance cut to provide space for off-street park- cities and towns by lowering summer ing, garages, patios, pools, decks, and temperatures and helping to clean the air other manifestations of our rising afflu- and water. ence. Street widening and utility pro- jects caused further tree loss. Urban forest land is the only category of forest land to have actually increased in Coincidently, as the trees were disap- recent years from 1 percent of the forest pearing from our cities, so were the peo- land base in 1985 and to 5 percent in ple. Development surged outward from 1998. Urban forests differ from rural the state’s urban centers into surround- forests because growth and development ing suburbs and small villages, also im- of trees are limited by city structures pacting community tree resources. To- rather than natural forest processes. Ur- day, low-density residential develop- ban involves the growth, man- ment continues to proliferate in rural ar- agement, and care of trees of these for- eas throughout the state. Trees continue ests. to be cut and land cleared to accommo- date fleeing urbanites seeking home Until recently, a plan for sites in rural, wooded settings, often un- was viewed as unnecessary. Up until aware that their individual location deci- about 30 years ago, the majority of sions risk the very environmental fea- Rhode Islanders lived tightly packed to- tures and rural charm that lured them gether in the major industrial cities of there.

The Rhode Island Urban and Community Forest Plan In 1999 the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Forest Environment, and the Rhode Island Tree Council established the Rhode Island Urban and Community forest plan. The aim of this plan is to improve urban and community forest resources by influencing decisionmaking processes. The plan does not mandate any particular action, but rather seeks to foster recognition and offer options and tools. An underlying assumption of this is that, with careful planning, quality designs, proper management, and prudent investment, urban and community forests can be maintained and improved without negatively impacting economic growth.

To guarantee that vibrant and productive urban and community forests are a component of Rhode Island’s future landscape, and to maximize the benefits that urban and community forests provide as green infrastructure, the State will seek to stabilize overall forest cover at or near the present level, and gradually improve the urban forests. Other recommendations are: · Seek a higher profile for the protection and management of urban and community forest resources in public and private com- munity planning, development, capital investment, and infrastructure management decisions · Increase public awareness of the benefits provided by urban forests · Protect trees of environmental and cultural importance through educational and/or legal means · Monitor the status of Rhode Island’s urban and community forest resources · Encourage new development that respects forest resources as vital elements of the community and properly integrates trees to create high-quality living and working environments · Maximize the impact of using trees appropriate to site conditions—“the right tree for the right place” · Encourage a high level of maintenance of community green infrastructure through adopted standards and adequate funding · Involve the public and the private sector in efforts to plant and maintain community tree resources, including public trees 22 THE FUTURE

During the 20th century, mankind has witnessed the birth of a new land ethic born from a landscape devastated by forest exploitation. We also have witnessed the power and resilience of nature as the landscape healed and forests again became our sanctuary. What will the future bring and how will Rhode Island's forests fair in the decades ahead?

We are confident that forests in the public sector will continue to grow. Land trusts, non-profit organizations, and governments have been actively pursuing protection strategies that will stretch well into the 21st century. Conservation easements will allow lands to remain in private ownership and protect critical habitats while pro- viding a mechanism for continued forest use. While total forest cover will shrink because of the pressures of fragmentation and parcelization, there should be a significant pool of willing landowners who will protect and manage private forests. The percentage of publicly owned forest will increase, but government cannot and should not own it all. Today 75 percent of the forested landscape is in private hands and the sheer number of de- cisionmakers allow for a rich diversity of management styles. We need to educate these landowners.

Industry needs to continue to adapt and we predict they will. Smaller lot sizes mean industry must use smaller, environmentally friendly equipment. Alternative nontimber forest products will gain in popularity.

The forest will continue to slowly convert to eastern white pine in southern Rhode Island where soils are sandy while northern Rhode Island should continue to see a thriving hardwood forest. Within the next two decades, the trees planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps prior to World War II will be gone and almost all of Rhode Is- land's forest will be the result of natural regeneration. Average volume per acre will continue to climb and stand- ing volume should exceed 2 billion board feet by 2020.

Forest fires will play a minor role in the Rhode Island landscape; however, a drought period that coincides with the spring fire season could prove especially problematic. Rhode Island's older forest will tend to burn less as long as it stays healthy. Human development within the forest will result in an increased risk of fire starts al- though those fires should stay small.

First and foremost, the forest will be our playground. People will continue to use our forested landscape for rec- reational purposes and the public's primary interest will be vested in specific uses enjoyed by the recreating pub- lic.

Attention to the urban forest will accelerate our understanding of how trees benefit society. Programs designed to build, maintain, and enhance the urban forest will grow as will community commitments to protect the urban- suburban forests. A regard for trees as a valued element of the urban infrastructure will grow, resulting in a bet- ter managed resource that will improve the aesthetics and livability of our cities and towns.

Insect and disease problems will continue to impact our forests. Hemlock might disappear and insects associated with southern climates might play important roles in changing our forests. The forest health monitoring and management strategies will adapt to the challenges that will include invasive, non-native pests, dramatic weather events, and political and social change.

The public value of forest management will grow as our society continues to learn and understand the integral role our forest lands play in the protection of our water resources. The forest’s intrinsic tie to abundant clean wa- ter will lead to greater protection, preservation, and management of forest tracts. It is in forest management that options for future generations are preserved while present goals and needs are met.

In the future, Ralph Waldo Emerson's words should still ring true: “In the woods we return to reason and faith.”

23 GLOSSARY

Board foot—equal to a piece of wood 1 ft by 1 ft square by 1 in thick Cord—a stack of split wood 4 ft tall by 4 ft wide by 8 ft long Edge habitat—the interface between two types of land uses, such as forest and nonforest, or age classes Hardwoods—a group of tree species that are generally broad-leaved and deciduous Forest land—land that is at least 1 acre in size and is at least 10 percent stocked with trees or that formerly had such tree cover and is not currently developed for a nonforest use Forest composition—the number and diversity of tree species within a forest Forest structure—the physical attributes of a forest Forest type—a classification of forest land based upon the dominant trees in a stand Fragmentation—the division of contiguous or adjoining forestland into smaller or more complex patches Parcelization—the division of forest land owned by a single ownership into parcels owned by more than one ownership Softwoods—a group of tree species that are generally evergreen and have needle shaped leaves Stand—a group of forest trees growing on forest land Timberland—forest land capable of growing trees that can be used for forest products Urban forest—trees and associated plants and animals in and around cities and towns

RHODE ISLAND TREES - COMMON AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES

Softwoods (Conifers) Eastern redcedar Juniperus virginiana Eastern white pine Pinus strobus Tamarack Larix laricina Scotch pine Pinus sylvestris Red pine Pinus resinosa Eastern hemlock Tsuga canadensis Pitch pine Pinus rigida

Hardwoods (Deciduous trees) Red maple Acer rubrum Apple Malus sp. Sugar maple Acer saccharum Blackgum Nyssa sylvatica Serviceberry Amelanchier sp. Eastern hophornbeam Ostrya virginiana Yellow birch Betula alleghaniensis Eastern cottonwood Populus deltoides Sweet birch Betula lenta Bigtooth aspen Populus grandidentata Paper birch Betula papyrifera Black cherry Prunus serotina Gray birch Betula populifolia White oak Quercus alba American hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana Swamp white oak Quercus bicolor Bitternut hickory Carya cordiformis Scarlet oak Quercus coccinea Pignut hickory Carya glabra Chestnut oak Quercus prinus Shagbark hickory Carya ovata Northern red oak Quercus rubra Flowering dogwood Cornus florida Black oak Quercus velutina American beech Fagus grandifolia Black locust Robinia psuedoacacia White ash Fraxinus americana Willow Salix sp. Black ash Fraxinus nigra Sassafras Sassafras albidum Green ash Fraxinus pennsylvanica American elm Ulmus americana Black walnut Juglans nigra Slippery elm Ulmus rubra Yellow-poplar Liriodendron tulipifera

24 FOREST AMENITIES ost Rhode Islanders get financial flows of water. More than 600,000 Mgains from their forest lands only Rhode Island residents depend on when they sell their property. But reservoirs for their water supply with forests generate many benefits that the remainder of the residents relying on Sugar maple cannot be quantified in terms of dollars wells. The reservoirs are surrounded by Acer saccharum and cents. From purifying the air and forest because the reservoir managers water, to providing a place for know the importance of forests for recreation and a setting for residential maintaining water quality. By allowing properties, the forests are vital to the water to slowly infiltrate into the health, welfare, and well-being of the ground, clean water enters streams and people of Rhode Island. aquifers and is then available for “The returns from for- extraction by homeowners and estry are too obvious Water and climate businesses. Once forests are removed, for discussion. The rain can cause soil erosion that depletes beauty and glory of the The most important role forests play is soil fertility, and muddies streams and earth as the home of in the regulation of climate and water ponds, thus decreasing water quality. man depends upon the cycles. Over the course of millennia, forest. It is the business trees and other green plants have of forestry to develop changed the atmosphere. Through pho- and perpetuate the for- tosynthesis, trees combine carbon diox- Recreation est that it shall serve ide and water using the sun’s energy to From the shores to the rolling hills, forever in the highest produce sugars. These sugars form the forests create and help frame the degree the manifold in- base of the food chain. A byproduct of beautiful landscape that Rhode Islanders terests of humanity.” photosynthesis is oxygen; without pho- have come to expect. The people of - Jesse B. Mowry, 1913 tosynthesis there would be too little Rhode Island have a long history of rec- oxygen for us to breath. Trees also help reating in the forests. control the temperature of the atmos- phere by removing carbon dioxide a The first Rhode Islanders hunted and greenhouse gas that helps trap warmth fished in the forests to provide suste- in the atmosphere. Many environmen- nance for themselves and their families. talists are looking at forests to help off- Hunting and fishing are still common set our carbon dioxide emissions and pastimes, but are now done more for mitigate global warming. pleasure than out of necessity. There are many acres of public and private Forests are vital for clean, dependable lands in the state that are used primarily for hunting and fishing.

But there are a plethora of other activi- ties that Rhode Islanders pursue in the woods. Many miles of trails and forest roads are used by hikers and horseback riders. And nearly every Rhode Islander has appreciated the beauty of the forest during the first flush of green in the spring or the explosion of color in the fall.

Pulaski Pond, George Washington Management Area 20 WANT MORE INFORMATION?

On the internet State of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management http://www.state.ri.us/dem/ USDA Forest Service Northeastern Research Station FIA http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/ State and Private Forestry http://www.na.fs.fed.us/ Southern New England Forest Consortium http://www.snefci.org/ Rhode Island Forest Conservators Organization http://www.rifco.org Rhode Island Tree Council http://www.ritree.org

Rhode Island forest statistics publications · Forest Statistics for Rhode Island: 1985 and 1998 by Carol L. Alerich (2000), published by U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Resource Bulletin NE-149. · Forest Statistics for Rhode Island-1972 and 1985 by D. R. Dickson and Carol L. McAfee (1988), published by U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Resource Bulletin NE-104. · Forest Statistics for Rhode Island by John R. Peters and T. M. Bowers (1977), published by U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Resource Bulletin NE-49. · FIA Photointerpretation in Southern New England: A Tool to Determine Forest Fragmentation and Proximity to Human Development by Rachel Reimann and Kathy Tilman (1999), published by U.S. De- partment of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Research Paper NE-709. · Private forest-land owners of the Northern United States, 1994 by Thomas Birch (1996), published by U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, Resource Bulletin NE-136.

Other books that may be of interest · Working with your woodland: A landowner's guide by M. Beattie, C. Thompson and L. Levine (1993), published by the University of New England Press. · A Sierra Club Naturalist's Guide to Southern New England by Neil Jorgensen (1978), published by Si- erra Club Books. · New England Wildlife: Management of Forested Habitats by Richard M. DeGraff and others (1992), pub- lished by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station., General Technical Re- port NE-144 · Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England by William Cronon (1983), published by Hill and Wang. · Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England by T. Wessels (1997), published by Countryman Press.

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?

Please contact: USDA Forest Service or Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and Analysis Division of Forest Environment 11 Campus Boulevard, Suite 200 1037 Hartford Pike Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073 North Scituate, Rhode Island 02857 (610) 557-4075 (401) 647-4389 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Northeastern Research Station 11 Campus Boulevard, Suite 200 Newtown Square, Pennsylvania 19073-3294

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